Minor League notebook: Madison’s Greg Nappo starting over with New Britain Bees

By David Borges dborges@nhregister.com @DaveBorges on Twitter

Published 6:40 pm, Saturday, July 29, 2017

Photo: Photo Courtesy Of The New Britain Bees

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After seven years as a reliever in the Marlins’ organization, Madison’s Greg Nappo is back to starting again with the independent New Britain Bees.

After seven years as a reliever in the Marlins’ organization, Madison’s Greg Nappo is back to starting again with the independent New Britain Bees.

Photo: Photo Courtesy Of The New Britain Bees

Minor League notebook: Madison’s Greg Nappo starting over with New Britain Bees

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NEW BRITAIN >> But for a lucky break here or an opportunity there, Greg Nappo may have been pitching in Miami on Thursday night for the Marlins.

Instead, there he was on the mound at New Britain Stadium, starting for the Bees of the independent Atlantic League.

Though it seemed several times over the past few years that Nappo was on the precipice of a big-league promotion, it just never quite worked out for him in the Marlins’ organization. An 18th-round pick out of UConn in 2011, he was up in Triple-A by 2013 and pitched parts of every season since then at that level — with admittedly mixed results.

That call never came. On June 11, he was sent down from Triple-A New Orleans to Double-A Jacksonville. A week later, he was released from the only pro organization he had known.

“That’s the business of the game,” Nappo said last week. “There was a lot of turnover in that organization from an upper-management standpoint. They felt that I wasn’t an option for them. That doesn’t mean that I’m not an option for someone else. I’ve seen guys get released. (New Haven native) Craig Breslow got released by his first organization, played independent ball and made it with the Twins. So, you never really know.”

Indeed, no hard feelings.

“I look at it as a stepping stone,” he said of his seven seasons in the Miami organization. “It was great to work with the people I worked with. I looked at it as me meeting a lot of great people and working in an organization that allowed me to get all the way to Triple-A. Obviously, I didn’t get over that hump with them, not to say that it can’t happen with someone else. I’ll continue to follow my dream for that.”

In fact, by the time Nappo was finally let go, he was actually relieved.

“I wanted to get somewhere where I could pitch consistently,” he said.

The Hand High product is getting that chance in New Britain. In fact, for the first time since his very first season in pro ball, Nappo is starting. And he couldn’t be happier.

“I’ve always thought that my stuff plays better as a starter,” Nappo noted. “With back-end guys throwing the ball 95-100 MPH, I wasn’t really a good fit, unless I was gonna drop down and be a lefty specialist. So, as a left-handed starter, I go out there and throw strikes, compete and give you five or six innings — that’s what I think best suits me as a pro.”

When Nappo first joined the Bees on July 1, he was slated to be used as a late-innings reliever. However, numerous situations arose with the starting rotation — including another UConn alum, Berlin’s Anthony Marzi, being signed by the Twins — causing Nappo to quickly move to the rotation.

“He looked to be the best candidate to go into that starting role,” said New Britain pitching coach/closer Shawn Gilblair. “He’s got a good mix, locates the fastball well. We knew he had a presence to him and a feel for the game. That’s big for a starter.”

“Some guys are relievers, and that’s all they are,” Gilblair added. “But Nap’s a pitcher. He knows how to get outs, and can adjust to the situation of games.”

In his third start of the season on Thursday, Nappo allowed seven hits and four runs in 5 1/3 frames and was tagged with his first loss.

Nappo, of course, was a brilliant starter at UConn, particularly his senior season, when he went 10-3 with a 2.63 ERA and helped lead the Huskies into the NCAA Regionals. As a senior at Hand in 2006, he went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 80 strikeouts.

“I just love starting,” Nappo said. “I love relieving, as well. I’m a pitcher, I’m gonna go out and compete, no matter what inning it is, what the situation is. But I’m just happy with the role I have right now.”

And Nappo knows very well that the Bees have had several players signed to affiliated teams over the past two seasons — virtually all of them starting pitchers. Marzi was the latest, but that list also includes New Haven’s Josh Zeid, who’s in the Cardinals’ organization this season.

“People think independent ball is guys drinking beer in the dugout. It’s not like that,” he said. “It’s pretty competitive. It’s very comparable to what I was doing in Double-A, Triple-A, except guys are probably a little hungrier. They’re not as complacent. Everybody’s trying to get signed out of this league and get to affiliated ball. It’s a great opportunity to showcase my stuff, get innings and be with a great group of guys.”

And in the process, Nappo gets to live at home in Milford with his fiancée, making the 40-minute drive each day to pitch — and audition — in New Britain as a starter.

“It’s definitely an ability to showcase all my stuff, as opposed to coming in for one out, a couple of innings, whatever it might be,” he added. “I think it definitely fits what I’m trying to do more. If I make it to the big leagues at some point, I will be a starter. That’s kind of what I’ve always hoped for anyway.”

Scribner, the first Sacred Heart player ever to reach the majors, is 10-3 with a 4.16 ERA in 18 appearances for Triple-A Salt Lake this season. He went undrafted out of college and was traded from the Astros’ organization to the Angels last April.